Lions fall victim to plucky Swans fightback

Such a result looked unlikely in the opening stages of the contest, with Seymour enjoying a dream start as returning spearhead Riley Mason — who had been sidelined with a leg fracture since the round 10 clash against Shepparton United — booted the game’s first major to immediately lift his side.

The Lions cashed in again through young gun Rory Kennedy less than a minute later as they continued to hold the early ascendancy, and while the Swans had their own opportunities, they went begging, and Jaron Murphy made the visitors pay with Seymour’s third goal of the opening term.

As the quarter time siren sounded, it was the Lions who had established a 3.2 (20) to 0.4 (4) lead, and emerging from the huddle at the start of the second quarter, they continually threatened to grow the margin even further.

But despite registering five of the first six scoring shots in the second quarter, Seymour was unable to find a goal, kicking five behinds before the Swans were able to boot consecutive majors against the run of play.

The Lions, who had dominated almost the entirety of the first half to that point, suddenly found their deficit cut to eight points, and while Mason added their sole goal of the term in response shortly after to push the margin to 12 points at the half, it felt as though the home side had let the Swans off the hook with their inaccuracy in front of goal.

While the third term started with the two sides trading goals, Seymour’s coming off the boot of Nic Quigg, it was soon taken over by the Swans, who kicked the next three goals of the contest to take the lead by six points.

Mason continued to show his importance to the Lions, bobbing up with his third goal of the afternoon to interrupt the visitors’ flow and level the scores, and while Ricky Schraven added the next major of the contest, it only gave Seymour a one-point lead, as the Lions had endured a Swans barrage at goal in between the two goals, and were lucky to escape with five behinds for damage.

The final four scores of the term went the way of the visitors, too, with 1.3 enough to open an eight-point advantage by the final break, leaving the Lions chasing the game.

Mere minutes into the final quarter, though, it appeared that the game had been lost, as the Swans booted the opening three majors to extend the advantage to a game-high 26 points.

Mason and Tom Stapleton breathed life back into the Lions’ challenge with consecutive majors, though, dragging their side back to 14 points down, but the Swans continued to find an answer when questioned.

The next four goals alternated evenly between the two sides, keeping the margin steady at 15 points, and while Jaron Murphy found his second to finally cut the deficit to single digits, it proved too little, too late, as the siren sounded to condemn the Lions to the eight-point loss.

Lachlan Giles was named best in the loss, closely followed by Mason, who booted a game-high four goals in a superb return, while Quigg, Stapleton and Lewis Lubeck were also influential.

The Lions managed to cling to third spot despite the defeat; however, they now sit level with Mooroopna, which possesses an identical 10-7 record, with percentage all that separates the pair heading into the final round.

With the Swans (9-7-1) half a game back in fifth, and both Kyabram and Rochester just one win behind, the Lions are at risk of falling from third spot, which guarantees a more favourable run through the finals, though remain in the box seat given they face the winless Tatura this weekend.

News out of the club on Monday night should buoy the group heading into the clash, however, with star trio Riley Mason, Huw Jones and co-coach Jack Murphy all announced as re-signing to the Lions for 2027, a significant boost for Seymour on the eve of finals.